2026 Short-Term Health Insurance Cost Reference
Updated 2026-07-09
Short-term monthly premiums modeled here run $40 to $520 in the United States in 2026, moving with age band, coverage tier, and deductible, based on this site's own calculator pricing model. A healthy adult under 30 on a basic, high-deductible plan sits near the low end; a 55-to-64-year-old on an enhanced plan with a low deductible sits near the top. Multiply the monthly figure by the number of months in your term, since short-term plans bill monthly rather than as one annual premium. Under the current federal rule (CMS-9904-F, effective for coverage starting September 1, 2024), an initial term is capped at three months and total duration at four, though federal regulators said in August 2025 that they are not prioritizing enforcement of that limit while new rulemaking is underway. The table and CSV below break pricing out by age, tier, deductible, and term length.
Payment table: premiums by age and coverage tier, 2026
This table shows the monthly premium range the calculator on this site produces for a single applicant at the medium-deductible setting and average-cost ZIP pricing (a multiplier of 1.0), across the three tiers the calculator offers. Figures round to the nearest $10, matching the calculator's own rounding.
| Age band | Basic plan | Standard plan | Enhanced plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | $40 to $110 | $60 to $140 | $70 to $180 |
| 30 to 44 | $60 to $160 | $80 to $200 | $100 to $260 |
| 45 to 54 | $90 to $220 | $110 to $280 | $150 to $360 |
| 55 to 64 | $130 to $320 | $160 to $400 | $210 to $520 |
Deductible choice shifts these numbers further, on top of age and tier. In the calculator's model, a high deductible multiplies the base rate by 0.8 (about 20% lower) and a low deductible by 1.3 (about 30% higher), relative to the medium-deductible figures above. ZIP code applies its own local-market adjustment, from roughly 0.90 in lower-cost areas to about 1.35 in the highest-cost prefixes the model tracks. Run your own age, plan, deductible, and ZIP through the short term health insurance cost calculator for a number specific to you.
What term length adds to the total
The calculator prices a monthly premium and applies no separate multiplier for contract length, since short-term plans bill month to month rather than pricing differently by term. The table below shows total cost for a Standard-tier plan at the medium deductible across three term lengths tied to the current and prior federal rules: three months (the 2024 rule's initial-term cap), four months (the 2024 rule's total-duration cap), and twelve months (illustrative of the longer terms some carriers are again offering while that 2024 limit goes unenforced, covered below).
| Age band | 3-month total | 4-month total | 12-month total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 30 | $180 to $420 | $240 to $560 | $720 to $1,680 |
| 30 to 44 | $240 to $600 | $320 to $800 | $960 to $2,400 |
| 45 to 54 | $330 to $840 | $440 to $1,120 | $1,320 to $3,360 |
| 55 to 64 | $480 to $1,200 | $640 to $1,600 | $1,920 to $4,800 |
What is the current federal rule on plan duration in 2026?
A federal final rule, CMS-9904-F ("Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage"), took effect for policies with coverage starting on or after September 1, 2024. It caps a plan's initial contract term at no more than three months and total duration, counting renewals, at no more than four. That replaced the 2018 standard, which allowed initial terms of just under twelve months and total duration up to 36 months with renewals.
On August 7, 2025, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury issued a joint statement saying they will not prioritize enforcement of the 2024 rule's duration limit while new rulemaking reconsiders it, with completion targeted by the end of 2026. The 2024 rule remains on the books, but with enforcement deprioritized, some carriers and states are again selling terms longer than four months, closer to the pre-2024 standard, pending that rulemaking's outcome. State law can independently restrict short-term plans further regardless of the federal ceiling; see how your state changes the price for state-level variation.
| Rule | Initial term cap | Total duration cap | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 federal rule | Just under 12 months | 36 months with renewals | Superseded on paper; effectively back in practice at many carriers due to 2025 non-enforcement |
| 2024 federal rule (CMS-9904-F) | 3 months | 4 months | Still the rule on the books; enforcement deprioritized since August 7, 2025; new rulemaking targeted for completion by end of 2026 |
Because the regulatory picture is unsettled in 2026, confirm the maximum term a carrier is actually offering in your state before buying, and do not assume a four-month cap applies everywhere. Short-term plans are not ACA-compliant: they don't have to cover pre-existing conditions, essential health benefits, or an annual out-of-pocket maximum. Compare a short-term plan against marketplace options at HealthCare.gov and confirm term length, exclusions, and total cost with a licensed broker before enrolling.
How are these premiums calculated
The figures on this page come directly from the constants inside this site's own calculator: an $80 to $200 base monthly range, multiplied by an age factor (0.7 under 30, 1.0 for 30 to 44, 1.4 for 45 to 54, 2.0 for 55 to 64), a plan-tier factor (0.8 Basic, 1.0 Standard, 1.3 Enhanced), and a deductible factor (0.8 high deductible, 1.0 medium, 1.3 low deductible), rounded to the nearest $10 to match the calculator's own rounding. Term-length totals are the medium-deductible Standard-tier monthly figures multiplied by the number of months in the term, a plain arithmetic extension rather than a separate pricing input. The federal duration-rule section cites two named, dated primary documents: the CMS fact sheet for the 2024 final rule (CMS-9904-F), effective for coverage starting September 1, 2024, and the joint DOL, HHS, and Treasury non-enforcement statement dated August 7, 2025. This page was last checked against the live calculator constants on 2026-07-09 and will be refreshed again if those constants change or the pending 2026 rulemaking concludes.
Download the data
The full table, covering all four age bands, three coverage tiers, three deductible levels, and total cost at 3-month, 4-month, and 12-month terms, is available as a CSV: download short-term-health-insurance-cost-reference-2026.csv.
Cite this page
Short Term Health Insurance Cost, "2026 Short-Term Health Insurance Cost Reference," 2026, https://shorttermhealthinsurancecost.com/short-term-health-insurance-cost-reference/.
Common questions about this reference
How often is this table refreshed? It is tied to the pricing constants inside this site's own calculator. If those constants move, or the pending 2026 federal rulemaking on plan duration concludes, this page and the CSV get updated to match.
Where do the dollar figures come from? They are computed directly from the calculator's base rate, age factor, plan-tier factor, and deductible factor, the same math the calculator on this site's home page runs when you enter your own numbers.
Does this table replace an actual quote? No. It shows what this site's model produces for a given age, tier, and deductible. A carrier's underwriting, your specific state, and your health history at application can move the real price above or below these ranges.